What are the Primary Reasons Why Forex Traders Fail? (2024)

Why the Forex Market Always Creates Doubts For You

Before we begin to explain the technical points about why Forex traders fail, we must understand an important point.

The Forex market is actually a place that is contrary to what we have learned all our lives.
This situation, along with the market that always goes one step further and two steps back creates situations we don’t know how to deal with.

Remember this! If you understand this point, you can fix the other processes and you are on the right path.

I will explain, there is always a feeling of missing out on the market, no matter if you have earned or lost. If you made a profit, you would think ‘why I sold too early’, and if you lost you would think ‘why did I not wait, I could have made a profit’. In short, you will never be satisfied.

Because the market goes in all directions, it creates a phenomenon that is exhausting us. The market always creates doubts for you.

The market examines us and gives us an emotional journey, once you end with a trade a new one begins, and the emotional journey begins again, the rollercoaster drops more and more people.

We have often seen it with our traders, who make great profits for months, and on one bad day, they lose everything.

But it is not over here, there are the professional requirements that are required to succeed in the Forex market, which are the opposite of our instincts and what we learned in our life.

For example, in sports, if the team against us has scored, we try to play harder, so it will not happen again, in the forex trading you have to be tolerant, do not play stronger, and maybe you should give up that trading day at all.

another example – In business, you’ll do everything to save the business, in trading you take the loss, you’ll learn to cut it early, using stop loss, you shouldn’t wait for the price to come back, otherwise, you might lose more. The opposite of what you were taught.

To sum up, most traders fail, and it’s not always their fault, if you can understand it and change your mindset, it’s a small step for you, and a big step for your career!

Why Forex Traders Lose Money

Most of the reasons why people fail in forex trading are because they don’t have a reasonable concept about trading and why they are trading. For many people, the motivation for getting into forex trading is the dream of becoming rich overnight. They are attracted to the lavish lifestyle of successful traders. However, they don’t consider the obstacles they overcome on their journey, or the years of experience they have acquired to get to that level.

Most people are only attracted to instant gratification, which reflects in their approach of trading in the market. This is the wrong approach to forex trading. You don’t become successful overnight in trading. The 4 main reasons why people don’t become successful in forex trading are:

  • Poor risk management
  • The absence of a trading plan
  • Lack of strategy or tactics that lead to success
  • psychological and emotional exhaustion

We are going to cover the major reasons why 95% of traders fail in forex trading in greater detail below.

Reasons why forex traders fail

Most people don’t take into account the requirements for becoming successful in trading and expect to achieve success with basic talent and skills. To succeed in forex trading, you must have a realistic mindset and a firm grasp of your own abilities. Traders sit in front of computer screens for hours on end, waiting for trading opportunities to present themselves while staring at price charts.

You need patience and discipline to capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves, for which you need a trading strategy. It is a fundamental part of obtaining success in forex trading. Without a trading plan or a trading strategy in place, you will struggle to succeed.

Trading on the forex market is also psychologically draining, and a lot of traders don’t have the patience to study the market. They get bored, frustrated, or tired, and start making silly trades without considering all the factors of that trade.

To humor you, we will say that the statistic of 95% traders failing maybe a touch high, but it is fair to say that forex trading isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. At The5%ers, we have worked with all kinds of traders over the years and have witnessed first-hand how traders end up ‘cutting off their legs’ when trading.

All traders, who struggle to advance their progress and losing trades, share the same characteristics. These are:

  • Unrealistic expectations about the market
  • Overcomplicating their analysis
  • Trading with money they can’t afford to lose (money for bills, mortgage, etc.)
  • Having a poor money management strategy
  • Chasing market noise and price, instead of using reliable data
  • Spending a lot of time over charts instead of trading
  • No consistency due to a lack of a trading plan
  • Failing to deal with a loss and reacting emotionally
  • Impatience and not waiting for the right moment to trade

Go through the list of characteristics mentioned above to find out how many points you are guilty of. Have you been making the same errors? You may be if you’re failing in forex trading. However, don’t worry about this as you’re not the only one making those errors. All traders struggle with these problems, which is what mainly stops them from being successful in forex trading.

Let’s Cover The 4 Main Reasons Why 95% of Traders Don’t Succeed in Forex Trading

Lack of a trading plan

The most obvious reason that explains why almost 95% of traders fail in forex trading is down to a lack of a proper trading plan. The only way you will manage to become a consistent and profitable trader is by treating trading like a real business. A trading plan is a systematic method for evaluating and screening currency pairs for determining the risk that you should take or is available to you. This will allow you to form long and short-term investment objectives.

Any successful trading plan will include details about the trading system you must use. However, when amateur traders start to invest in the market, it can become difficult for them to create a trading plan. There is an easy solution to that problem and answering some simple questions should help you create an appropriate trading plan that suits you. These questions are:

  • What time of the day do you want to trade?
  • How long will you hold your positions/trades?
  • How much are you willing to risk?
  • What are your trading goals?
  • Which currency pairs are you following?

An appropriate trading plan improves your chances of making successful trades in the forex market if you align it with a proven strategy that is efficient. We are going to discuss the strategy next.

Lack of strategy or tactics that lead to success

A lack of a profitable trading strategy significantly reduces the chances of traders finding success in the forex market. So, what is the best way to find if a strategy is profitable? You back-test the strategy. If you don’t know what back-testing is, don’t worry. It is quite simple.

To back-test a strategy, all you must do is take that strategy and implement it in the charts using data from previous years. For example, if your strategy is based on a harmonic pattern, you must investigate the price action of 2018 and find out how many traders used that specific harmonic pattern that year. You shouldn’t limit yourself to testing a system for only 1 year or for 100 traders.

Once you have conducted the test, you will learn whether a strategy was profitable or not. This will be determined by the results of the test. So, if you find that out of 100 trades, 60 were losses and 40 were winners, does that mean this strategy isn’t worth it?

No, it means that if a trader uses this strategy they will win 4 trades and lose 6 trades on average. But, if the trader uses authentic risk management techniques, they will find success in the forex market.

Poor risk management

One of the most common mistakes made by traders in forex trading is poor management of funds. When it comes to investing in any market, risk management is essential. if you don’t know how to build and use risk management, read this article, it will help you create risk management strategies for trading forex successfully.

The same applies to the forex market. Traders should use lot sizes based on the money available in their accounts. This is the one thing that separates successful traders from those who fail in forex trading. Successful traders avoid losing money by managing their funds efficiently.

Any trader with poor risk management isn’t going to win a lot of trades, which is one of the main reasons why they are failing in forex trading.

Trading psychologically Exhausting

A lot of problems in forex trading are psychological. Traders who give up too easily will not find success in forex trading since they don’t have the psychological traits and character required for success. The top 5% of trades are continuously spending time on personal improvement and fine-tuning their trading strategies, which is what it takes to have a successful trading career.

Why Forex Traders Fail Conclusion

The forex market will tear you apart psychologically. The financial sector is a super-competitive and ruthless world that has brought grown men to tears. It’s imperative that you know what your weaknesses are and work to improve them since you will have a lot of ups and downs in the forex market. Most forex traders tend to lose money, but this doesn’t mean that you will lose money as well. Work on improving your weakness, developing a solid trading plan with a successful trading strategy, and improving your risk management. Only then will you be able to find success in forex trading.

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What are the Primary Reasons Why Forex Traders Fail? (2024)

FAQs

What are the Primary Reasons Why Forex Traders Fail? ›

The primary cause for Forex traders to lose money is overtrading, which is defined as trading too much or too frequently. Inappropriately high-profit goals, market dependency, or insufficient investment may all lead to overtrading.

Why do most forex traders fail? ›

In conclusion, there are several reasons why forex traders fail, including a lack of proper education, poor risk management, emotional decision making, a lack of discipline, overtrading, and an inability to adapt to changing market conditions.

Why 90% of traders fail? ›

They fail because they size up so fast relative to their knowledge and disposable income that they blow up before they have a chance to make all the mistakes necessary to become a consistently profitable trader.

What causes traders to fail? ›

Not having and not following a trading plan is a big reason most traders fail. People without a plan are making an assumption that they are smarter than people who do this for a living, and therefore they don't need to prepare, plan, or practice.

Why do 95% of forex traders lose money? ›

Absence of risk rewards skills

Many traders don't follow their plan due to their emotions. When their trade starts going in a negative trajectory, people will place their stop-loss lower in hope that their trade will bounce back up. Traders need to know that it takes time to estimate trades before initiating them.

What of forex traders fail? ›

According to research, the consensus in the forex market is that around 70% to 80% of all beginner forex traders lose money, get disappointed, and quit. Generally, 80% of all-day traders tend to quit within the first two years.

Why do I keep failing at forex? ›

Lack of Education and Planning: Entering the forex market without adequate expertise is a sure fire way to go wrong. Before risking actual money, successful traders thoroughly research technical and fundamental analysis, comprehend market psychology, and create a clear trading plan.

What is 90% rule in forex? ›

While it can be a lucrative venture for some, it is also known to be a high-risk activity. This is where the 90 rule in Forex comes into play. The 90 rule in Forex is a commonly cited statistic that states that 90% of Forex traders lose 90% of their money in the first 90 days.

How much money do day traders with $10000 accounts make per day on average? ›

With a $10,000 account, a good day might bring in a five percent gain, which is $500. However, day traders also need to consider fixed costs such as commissions charged by brokers. These commissions can eat into profits, and day traders need to earn enough to overcome these fees [2].

How many forex traders lose money? ›

Trading the financial markets is notoriously difficult and many wonder what percentage of forex traders fail. Using official data from 32 ESMA regulated brokers, my research shows that an average of 72.2% of forex traders lose money.

Why 99% of traders fail? ›

The most common reason for failure in trading is the lack of discipline. Most traders trade without a proper strategic approach to the market. Successful trading depends on three practices.

Are forex traders successful? ›

Forex trading may make you rich if you are a hedge fund with deep pockets or an unusually skilled currency trader. But for the average retail trader, rather than being an easy road to riches, forex trading can be a rocky highway to enormous losses and potential penury.

What are common mistakes forex traders make? ›

Six common forex trading mistakes
  • Not doing your homework.
  • Risking more than you can afford.
  • Trading without a safety net.
  • Overreacting.
  • Trading from scratch.
  • Trading with emotion.

Why is forex so hard to trade? ›

There is a steep learning curve and forex traders face high risks, leverage, and volatility. Perseverance, continuous learning, efficient capital management techniques, the ability to take risks, and a robust trading plan are needed to be a successful forex trader.

How to trade forex without losing money? ›

  1. Do Your Homework.
  2. Find a Reputable Broker.
  3. Use a Practice Account.
  4. Keep Charts Clean.
  5. Protect Your Trading Account.
  6. Start Small When Going Live.
  7. Use Reasonable Leverage.
  8. Keep Good Records.

Can you lose more money than you invest in forex? ›

Although unlikely, there is a chance that a trader can lose more than their initial investments due to margin trading. Forex and CFD markets can be extremely volatile, especially during a turmoil or a crisis.

What percentage of forex traders are successful? ›

Forex trading is a popular way to make money, but it's also a risky business. Many people start trading Forex with the hope of getting rich quick, but the reality is that most Forex traders fail. So, how many people actually succeed in Forex? The exact number is difficult to say, but estimates range from 5% to 10%.

What is the biggest risk in forex trading? ›

Forex traders should consider the country's risk for a particular currency, which means they should assess the structure and stability of an issuing country.
  1. Leverage Risks. ...
  2. Interest Rate Risks. ...
  3. Transaction Risks. ...
  4. Counterparty Risk. ...
  5. Country Risk.

What is the number one mistake forex traders make? ›

One of the most common mistakes new forex trading make is not having a trading plan. A trading plan is a written set of rules that outlines a trader's entry and exit points, risk management strategies, and other important details.

Why is it so hard to make money in forex? ›

Statistics show that most aspiring forex traders fail, and some even lose large amounts of money. Leverage is a double-edged sword, as it can lead to outsized profits but also substantial losses. Counterparty risks, platform malfunctions, and sudden bursts of volatility also pose challenges to would-be forex traders.

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